Anyone recently married or planning a wedding in Cambridge / Cambridgeshire?

Hello

Im from Cambridge too .. we are getting married in April 2012 at The Cambridge Belfry

What have you got to book etc?

Im still trying to source invites

Flower girl dress

Photographer

Have you looked at other venue's in the area? x

We are getting married in Cambridgeshire and are thinking about booking the horse shoe in offord darcy, it's such a nice little place, just the sort of thing we are after as we don't want anywhere too big and the food reviews have always been amazing too.

Hello Kelly and Debs, nice to (virtually) meet you! Congratulations to both of you on your engagement!

Some questions for you both: are you getting married in a church, registry office or licensed venue? And how many guests do you plan to invite?

My fiance and I will have about 95-100 guests (including a few children) so they won't all fit in Cambridge registry office, which has a maximum capacity of 50 I think. So our main challenge has been to find a licensed venue for 100 people which we like, is available when we want it, and isn't TOO expensive! For the budget we're lucky in that we have some savings and our family is contributing, but we don't want to go too mad on what is just one day after all! However, we much prefer Sheene Mill to the other places we've seen (to answer your question Kelly, yes we've looked at a few...)

We've still got everything to do! I don't even have my engagement ring yet my fiance didn't get the ring before he proposed, because he knew I wanted us to choose it together, but ever since getting engaged we have been too busy a) telling family and friends the news and b) trying to find a venue! But we're going ring shopping on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to that

Debs, the Horse Shoe looks really nice. When are you planning to get married?

Emma xxx

Hi Emma, congrats to you too! Where abouts in Cambs are you? When are you getting/hoping to get married?

We have changed our minds today on our reception venue, we were quoted 6k just for a pub which is lovely but it's just a pub! So that's way more than we wanted to spend on feeding someone their dinner lol We went and had a look at St Neots Football club today and it's just what we are after, the room can be laid out just like a traditional wedding breakfast and the dance floor is massive! The bar is also in the same room too unlike some other venues we have looked at. The view is of a football pitch but hey I don't care, it's a clean looking view! (Might even hope for some fit footy players haha). We have been quoted 20 pound a head there for a full 3 course sit down meal which we were really pleased with and and we asked that none of the food was too poncy for want of a better word lol We are having either a prawn starter or garlic mushrooms or melon, a roast beef dinner and a chocolate pud! Later in the evening we are having bacon rolls, jacket potatoes, all the fillings and salads etc, a cheese wedding cake and crackers and a chocolate fountain so I think our guests will be nice and full and none of it is too fussy I don't think? We are having 120 guests or thereabouts for the whole day and night so I think we are getting really good value for money and now I have seen the venue I really want I am getting so excited!

I haven't got my ring yet either We chose it together online and went to the shop to have a look and order it but they don't stock it in store only onlin and I didn't want to pay for it to not like it then have to wait to buy another so I have decided on a different one from a different shop which I still absolutely adore even though it's a single stone with plain shoulders!

We have everything left to plan still. The vicar is coming on Saturday to confirm our date and go through things with us (we are having the 5th Oct '13). I have chosen my dress I think but I am going to go and have one more last go of it before I put a deposit on it and get it ordered. How far along are you with planning? x

Sheene Mill I have photographed at before and based on that experience I can strongly recommend the venue...

Hello,

I think you should go for Lanwades wedding hall. It is situated in Newmarket. It is a really beautiful venue...just go for it without any doubt...

Hi Emma!

I'm from Royston and we are getting married at Hotel Felix - so excited!

My friend got married at Sheene Mill this year and it was so lovely! :-)

Bx

Hello everyone! It's great to find other brides planning weddings nearby.

Debs: We live in Cambridge and we're planning to get married in August 2013. St Neots Football Club sounds great, really good value for money as you say Exciting that you've found what you want! It sounds like you're getting on nicely with the planning, especially as you have until 5 October. We're still stuck on the venue - once we've confirmed that we will be able to sort out the registrar and then get on with all the other stuff!

Demon: Thanks for the suggestion - unfortunately Lanwades Hall only accommodates 70 people for a sit down meal, so it's not suitable for us.

Becca: Hotel Felix looks lovely! Sadly it's too small for us (we're having 95-100 guests) otherwise we would definitely have looked.

It's funny, quite a few people have told me they've been to weddings at Sheene Mill, and everyone says it's lovely! We really liked it when we went to visit, but we're starting to have second thoughts because of the price. They have quoted us £9k-£10k (depending on whether we have drinks as part of the package, and how many drinks we have etc). We're wondering whether we could negotiate.

One place I found which seems like good value is Slepe Hall Hotel: http://www.slepehallhotel.co.uk/weddings/index.asp They are booked up for Saturdays in July and August 2013, but they are worth looking at if you have other dates in mind.

I've also asked for more info from the Athenaeum in Bury St Edmunds. It's quite far from Cambridge but we're getting a bit desperate now!

Just a quickie to say that I'm in Cambridgeshire too - not that far from Royston, I live in Sawston. I've looked at a few venues, including the Belfry but will probably go for Abington Hall, Great Abington... only disadvantage with that is that you have to drive through a science park to get to it (the land the Hall owned is now the science park) but we both like it.

also looked at the DoubleTree Hilton by the river, very pretty if the weather is nice and you get your own private garden bit.

The Double Tree is lovely I looked at that but only got as far as looking online lol What about South Farm have you looked at that? What is your budget for your venue? I would have LOVED South Farm but our budget wouldn't allow it but it's gorgeous and there is accomodation for yourself and hubby and then there are old fashioned trailer things for guests and also camping space! x

Http://www.south-farm.co.uk/about/

Hi Debs, yes I really love South Farm too - I had spotted it before getting engaged! But it's more expensive than Sheene Mill - would have cost us over £15k (for 100 guests) for a Saturday in the summer. Also, they're completely booked up for next year, and apparently they do weddings every single day so it's a bit of a production line. Apart from all that (!) it looks lovely...

Hi Lynd, we looked at Abington Hall too - we thought it was nice but we ruled it out mainly because the ceremony room only fits 70, and we need room for 95-100. But we really liked the big green space with the lovely oak tree, and the fact that the restaurant has huge windows overlooking that and the hall. Oh and all the guest rooms are handy too! If you like it then go for it - from the research I've done, it looks like one of the better value venues.

xx

Yeah I hadn't thought of that actually, I did know about it being booked up duh!

I have just had a look at Sheene Mill, it's lovely!

Yes, Sheene Mill really is lovely! I think we'll try and negotiate - scary but we'll give it a go!

We've spent HOURS looking for alternative venues - so far we've found some that look promising:

Spirella Ballroom, Letchworth

http://www.spirella.com/wedding

http://www.weddingvenues.com/venue3977.html

The Broadway Hotel, Letchworth

http://www.broadwayhotel.co.uk/index.php/letchworth-wedding-venue/

Athenaeum, Bury St Edmunds

http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/leisure-and-tourism/st-edmundsbury-halls/the-athenaeum.cfm

http://www.weddingvenues.com/venue6822.html

I think the Spirella Ballroom looks pretty cool - just waiting for them to get back to us about availability etc.

Recently shot a wedding at http://www.rectoryweddings.net/ which ticked a lot of boxes ...... nice gardens, plenty of space, great for photos, nice marquee, good food, etc.

Doubletree Hilton - oddly enough - isn't as expensive as you'd think and they do various packages.

We chose Abington Hall partly due to the fact that you move around - ceremony in one room, meal in another, and bar/disco/whatever in a third plus the accommodation is off the bar so if people have babies then they can put them in there (if they want) and a baby monitor will reach. The wedding planner there is lovely too.

For me, it'd be scary spending £15k on one day.

There's another place just of Junction 13 of the M11 ... something Farm (don't think it's SOuth Farm) and I think you can bring your own drink and they don't charge corkage.

Parklands is another place - near Saffron Walden - if you can hold on they'll discount like no-bodies business!!! (for example, some of the few remaining dates in November this year have been reduced to £3k!).

Then there are the Colleges - lots of those do weddings out of term time.

The Cambridge area seems to be quite expensive really...

Hi Lynd, yes you're right I think the Cambridge area is pretty expensive.

Do you mean Rectory Farm? (the same place that Paul mentioned) It does look nice but I don't think they are licensed for civil ceremonies, unfortunately.

Parklands was actually the first place we went to see! They had an open evening a few weeks ago when we had just started looking. It was beautiful but too expensive for us - £17k for a Saturday in the summer (for 100 people) and something like £13k for April, I think.

My fiancé and I just had a good meeting with the lady at Sheene Mill (who is really nice and helpful) and she is going to see what she can do for us - fingers crossed! We're also going to see the Spirella Ballroom tomorrow - I'll let you guys know what it's like.

Yep.. that's the place. I noticed that after I posted. I think they were getting licensed but maybe they didn't.

Hi

im currently practically living in the Cambridge belfry mon-fri for work and seen so many gorgeous weddings set up on a thu and Friday

Hi,

My daughter got married on the same day as the Royal couple. They married at south Farm, Royston, and we would thoroughly recommend it. We cannot fault it. The fod was gorgeous, setting and service of staff fantastic, and photo opportunities stunning!!

Lynne

Lemon Violet, I LOVE everything about South Farm but it's out of our budget but I would imagine anyone who gets married there would have an amazing day x

Hi everyone! How are you all getting on with your wedding planning?

My fiancé and I have confirmed Sheene Mill! It was exactly what we wanted and the other places we saw just didn't compare. We managed to negotiate a bit of a discounted package so we got the overall price (venue, food, drink) within our budget, which we're very happy and relieved about. Phew! Now onto organising the rest...!

We've started looking for a photographer. Have you guys booked a photographer yet? Any recommendations?

xxx

Hi Emma,

Congrats on getting your venue! We are going to look at Slepe Hall Hotel on Sunday but if that's not right we are just going to go for the football club and put our deposit down on Monday.

I have finally chosen and put a third of the price down on a dress! I managed to buy some fishbowls for centerpieces today, 10 for 54 quid so was well chuffed with that, my save the dates are here and I love them and we met with the photographer tonight and we are going with him. He is on Hitched actually, Paul33. He had some great examples of his work, loved his album styles and he has some really reasonable packages! His website is nenedigitalweddings.co.uk - I don't know of any others in the cambridgshire area, I did have a google but I didn't meet with any other than Paul.

What's next on your to do list apart from that?

Sheene Mill is a lovely venue! All becomes a bit real now ?

I travel all over if I can help at all x

I can't recommend myself, although please do have a look at my website to see if the style meets your aspirations....

Peter

Hi Debs,

Yay for choosing your dress!

Please let us know what you think of Slepe Hall Hotel, I would be interested (even though it's not available for any of the dates we wanted!)

The good thing about going to see venues when you've already seen one you like is that there's no pressure - if you don't like it you can go with the football club

So, next on my to do list:

- Book a photographer

- Meet the registrar - we have our appointment to give notice of marriage on Tuesday, I think we will probably get that "omg this is actually happening" feeling!

- Buy engagement presents - a ring for me, a watch for him. I'm very impatient to get this sorted! But we haven't had much time yet, as we were focused on finding the venue. We're going to London the weekend after next and we have an appointment with a jeweller we like, so fingers crossed...

Oh and I'm also going to a wedding fair on Saturday! It's just to browse really, although I'm hoping to get some ideas, and you never know, I might see a dress I like!

xxx

PS Thanks to the photographers who posted, I will have a look at your websites

I will let you know what it's like Emma!

I still haven't got my ring yet and am getting impatient to say the least! I know we are trying to pay deposits off of important things but STILL lol Which wedding fair are you going to?

Maybe getting your ring could be the next thing on your to-do list after booking the venue? Sounds like you will definitely deserve it by then!

The wedding fair is at the Royal Cambridge Hotel on Trumpington Street, on Saturday and Sunday. I found out about it on this website: http://www.heartbrides.co.uk/7.html

xx

Ohhh I might pop in there myself on Sunday! Thanks for the link x

Ooo I may pop along to the wedding fair - mind, the way traffic is at the moment in Cambridge, best start driving there now!!!

If any of you guys are still looking for a florist I can recommend The Flower Bar in St Ives.

Slightly biased because she's a family friend but we are going to see her on Saturday - I currently have another florist booked but they did my sister's flowers and they were appalling!